49ers backup Alex Smith says it's tough to sit

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Colin Kaepernick's image filled the Superdome scoreboard, his ears tucked into his red 49ers hat just so, as he sat at one of the seats reserved for the biggest personalities and most important players at Super Bowl media day.

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Posted Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:30 AM

Posted Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:30 AM

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Colin Kaepernick's image filled the Superdome scoreboard, his ears tucked into his red 49ers hat just so, as he sat at one of the seats reserved for the biggest personalities and most important players at Super Bowl media day.

He is, after all, San Francisco's starting quarterback.

About 50 yards away, not in one of those seats set aside for starters, stood Alex Smith, Kaepernick's backup. Smith was not shown on the scoreboard.

Question after question came at Smith, but instead of being about how to beat the Ravens or what it might feel like to win a championship, most concerned his transition from starter to reserve in this, ironically, his best season in the NFL. NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. A top-of-the-league passer rating. One game when he completed 18 of 19 passes. But then came a concussion in one game, sitting out as a precaution in the next — and that was that. The job became Kaepernick's for good.

"I'm not going to lie about any of that," Smith said Tuesday at the Superdome. "Tough at times, for sure, tough to accept, tough to watch."

And then he added: "But we're in the Super Bowl."

About 15 minutes later, the guy who took his spot in the lineup, was asked whether he feels bad at all for Smith.

"I mean, it's a business," Kaepernick replied. "You have to do whatever you can to try to be successful."